Most parents and kids I speak to regarding online safety seem to have a bad case of the ‘it-will-never-happen-to-me’s.’ Stories of hacking and social engineering seem like far away ideas, or things that happen in a Spielberg movie, but not an everyday occurrence. I get it. In fact, I used to be one of these people.
In an effort to more clearly shine a light on the importance of protecting your information online, I made a new friend. A hacker friend. We’ll call this friend Oz – yes, as in ‘Oz the Great and Powerful.’
I’ve never met Oz in person, but the credentials shared with me characterized Oz as a white hat hacker. White hat is defined as an ethical hacker, and a black hat would be the opposite, meaning a hacker who uses their powers for evil, not good.
As I typed up my first message to Oz, I…
